All about music

I am a non-professional music reviewer and my genres are mainly jazz, blues, soul and funk. I do not get paid to have opinions about music, but I spend hours listening to music every day anyway, and opinions are created as a result. I have scribbled notes about bands, songs and albums for years and now I am thinking it is time to share these with other music fanatics.

Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments, I am really looking forward to hearing your opinions on my opinions.

Soul Music is a music genre that has an origin from the US towards the end of the 1950s and in the early 1960s. It combines elements of African American gospel, rythm & blues and jazz. Soul music became popular in the United States because you could both dance and listen to the music. Record companies such as Motown, Atlanta and Stax were influential publishers of soul music. Soul also became popular around the world, which influenced rock music and music from Africa.

Important subgenres

Some of the most important subgenres of soul are a Motown style from Detroit, a rhythmic music influenced by the gospel; a deeper soul and southern soul, energetic soul style combines R&B with gospel. Memphis soul, which was a shimmering and stifling style. New Orleans soul, which came from the rythm & blues style. Chicago soul, a lighter gospel influenced sound. Philadelphia soul, a more lush with orchestral sound with doo-wop inspired song. Psychedelic soul, a mixture of psychedelic rock and soul. Blue-eyed soul, soul music performed by white artists. British Soul and the Nordic Soul, which is a rare soul music played by DJs at nightclubs in northern England.

Perhaps it was Sam Cooke who in 1957 set the tone for soul when he got his big break with the song You Send Me. The first artist who really got a real breakthrough was probably Ray Charles. He was one of the first to connect gospel music with rythm & blues together with worldly texts. Other artists who did soul music were James Brown, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and others. The record label Motown records from Detroit played a crucial role in the development of soul. There are several different genres of music developed from the soul, including the house, disco and hip-hop music. In New Jersey casinos it is often a lot of music, but the genres is different, but it sometimes are soul music.

The first time I heard Amy Winehouse was actually on the radio. I never listen to radio at home, but I do travel quite a lot by bus and there the radio is always broadcasting. I heard the song Back to black and sat there on my bumpy seat, stunned. I thought it was incredible that there was such an amazing musician, obviously from passed times, that I could't place a face or a name to.

When I got back home i Googled Back to black and was introduced to Amy. Her Back to black album was on repeat for many weeks following that day. I have loved her ever since and in my book she is one of the greatest voices of all times. So much feeling!

When Amy Winehouse died I was shocked and I believe her passing was a huge loss to music history...

I am well aware that the blues music genre was born out of suffering. Suffering is the essence of blues music but it is also a testimony to that even in the darkest places beauty will have a place. I wish I had a time machine and the opportunity to go back to experience these blues fathers live. I am grateful for recordings...